Financial Adviser

Andrew Whiting joined St. James’s Place Wealth Management in December 1991 and was one of the original Partners at the inception.

Andrew and his trusted team cover the breadth of the UK providing advice on all areas of financial planning, specialising in wealth creation, protection and management aspects of business exit strategies, retirement planning and inheritance tax planning.

Over 3000 clients are looked after by Andrew, his advisers, Brett Linton and Richard Avery, the Practice Manager, Lorna Gould and their experienced support staff and qualified Paraplanners.

Their ethos is developing strong long-term client relationships built on confidence and trust. This is combined with a tailor-made financial plan designed to suit individual needs whilst providing regular reviews as financial circumstances evolve.

The Partner Practice represents only St. James's Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group's wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group's website www.sjp.co.uk/products. The 'St. James's Place Partnership' and the titles 'Partner' and 'Partner Practice' are marketing terms used to describe St. James's Place representatives.

Parents and grandparents can help children buy their own home without having to hand over money.
It’s no surprise so many young people feel their dreams of owning a home are slipping out of reach. A new report by the Resolution Foundation has found that one in three UK millennials will never own a home and half will be renting into their 40s.1
Meanwhile, the latest data shows that house prices have increased by 30% since early 2013, and 54% in London, bringing the average UK house price to £211,792.2
With property prices continuing to soar, many first-time buyers will feel their only option is to turn to the bank of mum and dad – or even granny and grandad – to help them buy their first home. Nowadays, around 60% of under-30s get help from their family to buy a home3, while one in ten grandparents have gifted grandchildren...

Expectations of a strengthening UK economy, solid employment levels, more consumer spending and the potential for wages to rise have all played a part in the decision by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England (BOE) to raise the base rate from 0.5% to 0.75%. The increase announced on 2nd August is the first since November ‘17 when interest rates rose from 0.25% to 0.5%.
The MPC’s main priority is to keep the rising cost of living under control, known as inflation. It uses the base rate as the reference point for how much commercial banks and building societies pay savers and charge borrowers in interest. The MPC voted 9-0 to raise the bank rate and said that future rises "are likely to be at a gradual pace and to a limited extent".
The 3.7 million households on variable and interest-only mortgages will be worst affected by...

The growing proportion of UK wealth tied up in property means your house can easily end up benefiting the Treasury – instead of your children.
The recent TV adaptation of E M Forster’s Howards End was simply the latest in a long line of screen dramas whose plot turns on the contents of a Will. It is little wonder dramatists keep returning to the topic; passing on property to the next generation is rarely straightforward.
The sharp rise in property prices over the past decade has only served to aggravate matters. For many families, their principal residence is likely to be their biggest single asset, and to attract hefty taxes and other charges each time there is a change in ownership. As a result, retirement downsizing can be expensive, and it can be all the harder to release capital for the next generation. “There can be a sense of frustration...

With the full force of Brexit yet to be felt, those who are saving for retirement need to be wary of the potential impact on their plans.
While markets have remained resilient following the initial shock of the Brexit vote, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cautioned that the impact of the decision to exit the European Union has continued to weigh heavily on the wider economy.
“The employment rate has remained around record highs, but the sharp depreciation of sterling following the referendum pushed up consumer price inflation, squeezing household real income and consumption,” it said, having downgraded its growth forecasts for the UK earlier last year.
The IMF’s report comes after the Bank of England warned that Brexit was having a “noticeable impact” on the economic outlook and that the UK’s split from the European Union will probably hamper productivity and slow growth.
“Brexit-related constraints on investment and...

Research provides insight into the different ages at which people move from one financial phase to another.
The division of human life into a series of ages appears to have been a common theme among writers and philosophers through the ages. Indeed, the idea is famously explored in a monologue from Shakespeare’s As You Like It, which compares the world to a stage and catalogues the seven stages of a man's life.
Whilst society has advanced somewhat since those words were first put to paper, a similar division can be used to look at the milestones at which people today start to move from one financial ‘age’ to the other.
The insurer Aviva asked over-50s who had been proactive in saving for retirement to recall when they started doing so1. From this it constructed the seven ages of retirement planning (see table below).
Starting out
Just over a quarter of those questioned said...

Recent research shows consumers are increasingly accessing pension drawdown without taking advice.The Financial Conduct Authority says that individuals who access their pension pot flexibly may need extra protection to manage withdrawals effectively, after it emerged that the number of people going without financial advice has risen dramatically.Figures published in the regulator’s July 2017 Retirement Outcomes Review Interim Reportreveal that the proportion of individuals who forgo advice and take a ‘DIY’ approach to managing their pension pot in retirement has risen from 5% to 30% following the introduction of pension freedoms legislation in 2015.Prior to April of that year, savers were faced with restrictions on when and how they could access their pension pot. Consequently, over 90% of pots were used to buy annuities. Today, as a result of the new freedoms, twice as many pots are moving into drawdown than are being used to purchase annuities.1Yet concerns are growing for those who...

Millennials, those born roughly between 1980-2000 (en.wikipedia.org/millennials) are exceptional in many ways. They are generally better educated than their predecessors, more ethnically diverse, and more economically active. Yet they confront greater difficulties; financial worries take many guises, from university graduates struggling with debt to saving for their first home. In recent years we’ve seen a shift in responsibility for financial matters from the state and employer to the individual and it is becoming increasingly important that Millennials are equipped with the knowledge to make confident, informed decisions about their financial future. As we progress through life, we are faced with different financial challenges. Everyone needs help to make the most of their money so they can live life to the full and achieve their goals. As a generation carrying new personal financial responsibility, it is critically important for Millennials to be on a path leading toward financial security.For those...

New rules on tax relief and loan affordability being implemented in April will hit the profits of many buy-to-let investors.It has been a strong decade for UK property prices and rental incomes. Despite a marked dip in the second half of 2016, rental prices have still risen by around 30% since 2010. (Back in mid-2016 that figure was closer to 40%.1) Low interest rates and regulatory tailwinds have encouraged many landlords to increase the number of buy-to-let properties they own, while the UK’s economic and jobs recovery has helped to keep rental demand buoyant.Yet the tide appears to be turning. New rules due to be implemented from April will phase out higher rate tax relief on mortgage interest for buy-to-let. The maximum relief for higher rate taxpayers will ultimately fall to 20% in 2020.2 The impact of the drop may be substantial.“The tax changes that will start taking effect from April...

Moving into a retirement community is a decision that demands a great deal of careful consideration.There are plenty of reasons to think about downsizing. Perhaps your children have flown the nest, you’re approaching retirement, or your spouse has recently died. But whatever the motivation, it can still be difficult to leave somewhere that’s been your home for many years.Fortunately, the choice of purpose-built accommodation for retirees is expanding and becoming more flexible as well as more appealing, helping residents to live independent and fulfilling lives for as long as possible.In recent years, there has been a surge in the numbers of retirement villages under construction in the UK, many of which provide luxury accommodation to people over the age 55 who are looking to downsize without compromising their standard of living.“What we hear most commonly from our clients, once they have settled into their new home, is that they wish...

HMRC figures show that many savers are still at risk of wasting the tax benefits of their ISA allowance.There is no doubt that ISAs have been a big success in helping foster the UK’s savings habit. A new report from HMRC¹ reveals that the market value of all ISA holdings is now around £518 billion, a testament to the popularity of the scheme, which is estimated to have cost the Exchequer £2.6 billion in tax relief last tax year.Encouraged by the government’s move to raise the annual ISA allowance by nearly 50% over the last five years, the average subscription in the 2015/16 tax year rose to a record high of £6,338. Overall, around £80 billion was subscribed to ISAs last year, an increase of £1 billion on 2014/15.Yet the figures also reveal that the majority of ISA savers are not making the most of the long-term tax-saving and...

HMRC figures show that many savers are still at risk of wasting the tax benefits of their ISA allowance.There is no doubt that ISAs have been a big success in helping foster the UK’s savings habit. A new report from HMRC¹ reveals that the market value of all ISA holdings is now around £518 billion, a testament to the popularity of the scheme, which is estimated to have cost the Exchequer £2.6 billion in tax relief last tax year.Encouraged by the government’s move to raise the annual ISA allowance by nearly 50% over the last five years, the average subscription in the 2015/16 tax year rose to a record high of £6,338. Overall, around £80 billion was subscribed to ISAs last year, an increase of £1 billion on 2014/15.Yet the figures also reveal that the majority of ISA savers are not making the most of the long-term tax-saving and...

New data shows UK banks raised mortgage rates despite falling interest rates, making life harder for borrowers and savers alike.Shortly before the Bank of England pushed interest rates to a fresh 300-year low early last month, a number of UK lenders chose to raise their mortgage rates, leading many commentators to call into question the benefit of the central bank’s action. Banks’ customers now face a two-pronged challenge – a near-zero return on their savings, and an unnaturally high interest rate on their mortgage.This was not what the Bank of England had envisaged when it lowered rates – knowing that lower rates would hurt savers, it hoped that banks would pass on lower borrowing rates too, thereby providing a boost to economic activity and risk-taking.Recent research by Moneyfacts tells a different story, however, despite Bank of England governor Mark Carney saying that lenders had “no excuse” not to pass...

Chris Reid of Majedie Asset Management believes global exposure and prudent active management should help investors cope with an EU exit.Stock markets have been volatile since the UK voted to leave the EU, not least in London, and sterling has remained very weak against the dollar.In such circumstances, it would be understandable if investors worried about the value of their holdings and their income stream, especially if they believe investment and economic growth are under threat.Chris Reid of Majedie Asset Management believes that the dividend stream for his UK Income fund is secure, however, not least because the businesses he has invested in are not simply focused on the UK.“We estimate around 40% of the fund’s net asset value is invested in ‘dollar profits’,” said Reid, referring to where the companies derive their revenue.Reid says one of the best examples is Tate & Lyle, the century-old British sugar importer...

Wealth management is a relatively new profession, so it’s not surprising that most people are vague about what wealth managers actually do.
Wealth management addresses a wide range of issues. We can help you with such issues as:
investing a lump sum,
deciding how much you need to save in order to retire comfortably,
estate planning and inheritance tax planning,
dividing up pension entitlements on a divorce or separation,
getting the right types and amounts of life and health insurance,
planning to pay school or university fees,
providing a general financial health check.
These are crucial issues for most people and their families, and it’s very important for a wealth manager, or adviser, to have a thorough understanding of clients’ aims and challenges.It’s generally best to look at the whole of an individual’s financial affairs across the board, not just the issue that is of most immediate concern. It can sometimes be hard to...